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Meteorological Data from the Russian Arctic, 1961-2000, Version 1

This data set contains monthly means of meteorological observation data from Russian stations from 1961-2000 (for most stations). The Russian station observations were provided by Vladimir Radionov, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), St. Petersburg, and include 2-meter air temperature, sea level pressure, total and low cloud amount, precipitation, and relative humidity.

Detailed Data Description

The station data from AARI have been reformatted to "uniformat." Uniformat files are ASCII files with columns for parameters described in the Table 1. Uniformat was developed to combine the synoptic and monthly meteorological data from the several sources on the Arctic Meteorology and Climate Atlas (Arctic Climatology Project, 2000) into a single format. The single format makes it easier to read and manipulate data from different sources.

Table 1. Uniformat File Description. (Note that only parameters 1,2,3,7,8,9,10,13,14,15, and 19 have data, other fields are filled with a value indicating missing. These fields apply to data on the Arctic Meteorology and Climate Atlas).

Parameter Number

Parameter Name

Columns

Value for Missing

Comments

1

WMO station number

0-4

99999

2

Year

5-9

Not Applicable

3

Month

10-12

Not Applicable

4

Day

13-15

-1

(-1 means monthly, not synoptic data)

5

Time

16-20

-1

(-1 means monthly, not synoptic data)

6

Position interpolation flag

21-22

9

Code to indicate position characteristic:

9: Missing. Used if either lat. or lon. is missing

1: Default. Means observed, fixed position

2: Linearly interpolated. Used only for North Pole drifting stations.

3: Rounded to nearest degree. Used for some western drifting station and Ice Patrol ship data.

4: Monthly mean position. Used only for monthly mean data from NP stations.

7

Latitude, decimal degrees North

23-28

99.99

This position is the position provided by AARI, not that provided for the station by WMO. Differences may occur.

8

Longitude, decimal degrees East

29-36

999.99

(0 - 360); This position is the position provided by AARI, not that provided for the station by WMO. Differences may occur.

Note that the station names, positions, and elevations provided by AARI may differ from those provided by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Table 3 shows where differences occur.

Table 3 contains station information contained on the WMO web site. The information was obtained from Meteorological Station Location Information on July 14, 2003. Some of the station names, geographical coordinates, and elevations differ from those obtained from AARI (displayed in Table 2).

Table 3. Discrepancies between WMO and AARI station information

AARI Station Number

WMO Station Number

AARI NAME

WMO NAME

AARI LATITUDE (DM)

WMO LATITUDE (DM)

AARI LONGITUDE (DM)

WMO LONGITUDE (DM)

AARI ELEVATION

WMO ELEVATION

20107

20107

BARENTSBURG

BARENCSBURG

78 04

78-04

14 15

014-15

15

49

20864

20864

TAMBEY

TAMBEY

71 30

71-29

71 50

075-24

8

21

20963

20963

GYDA

GYDA

70 53

70-53

78 28

078-30

8

8

20967

20967

SEYAKHA

SEJAHA

70 13

70-10

72 36

072-31

16

16

21835

-----

NIJNEYNSK

71 29

136 42

2

21908

21908

DZHALINDA

DZALINDA

70 08

70-08

113 58

113-58

62

62

21921

21921

KJUSJUR

KJUSJUR

70 41

70-41

127 24

127-24

39

39

21946

21946

CHOKURDAH

CHOKURDAH

70 37

70-37

147 53

147-53

48

61

22165

22165

KANIN NOS

KANIN NOS

68 39

68-39

43 18

043-18

48

49

22235

22235

KRASNOSCELE

KRASNOSCEL'E

67 22

67-21

37 02

037-03

155

22271

22271

SOJNA

SOJNA

67 53

67-53

44 08

044-08

18

16

22292

22292

INDIGA

INDIGA

67 42

67-41

48 46

048-41

4

3

22422

22422

GRIDINO

GRIDINO

65 54

65-54

34 26

034-46

10

22471

22471

MEZEN

MEZEN

65 52

65-52

44 13

044-13

14

14

22648

22648

TURCASOVO

TURCASOVO

63 06

63-07

39 15

039-14

35

22676

22676

SURA

SURA

63 35

63-35

45 38

045-38

62

66

22845

22845

KARGOPOL

KARGOPOL

61 30

61-30

38 56

038-56

121

121

22954

22954

VOZEGA

VOZEGA

60 28

60-28

40 12

040-12

178

178

23024

23024

BELYY NOS

CAPE BELY

69 39

69-29

60 25

060-20

19

6

23029

23029

UST KARA

UST-KARA

69 15

69-15

64 56

064-59

4

4

23058

23058

ANTIPAYUTA

ANTIPAJETA

69 05

69-09

76 51

077-00

15

4

23074

23074

DUDINKA

DUDINKA

69 24

69-24

86 10

086-10

28

19

23242

23242

NOVYY PORT

NOVY PORT

67 42

67-41

72 54

072-52

12

12

23256

23256

TAZOVSKOE

TAZOVSKOE

67 28

67-28

78 44

078-44

8

8

23274

23274

IGARKA

IGARKA

67 28

67-28

86 34

086-34

30

30

23330

23330

SALEKHARD

SALEHARD

66 32

66-32

66 32

066-40

35

16

23331

23331

RA-IZ

RA-IZ

66 57

66-54

65 28

065-40

890

890

23341

23341

YAR-SALE

JAR-SALE

66 50

66-50

70 49

070-50

8

8

23383

23383

AGATA

AGATA

66 53

66-53

93 28

093-28

263

280

23405

23405

UST-CILMA

UST'- CIL'MA

65 27

65-26

52 16

052-16

70

70

23418

23418

PECHORA

PECHORA

65 07

65-07

57 06

057-06

56

56

23426

23426

MUZHY

MUZI

65 23

65-23

64 43

064-43

18

18

23552

23552

TARKO-SALE

TARKO-SALE

64 55

64-55

77 49

077-49

27

27

23625

23625

SOSVA

SOSVA

63 39

63-39

61 59

062-06

27

27

23678

23678

VERHNE-IMBATSKOE

VERHNEIMBATSK

63 09

63-09

87 57

087-57

40

40

23987

23987

JARCEVO

JARCEVO

60 15

60-15

90 14

090-14

58

58

24105

24105

ESSEJ

ESSEJ

68 28

68-28

102 10

102-22

271

271

24143

24143

DZHARDZHAN

DZARDZAN

68 44

68-44

124 00

124-00

45

45

24329

24329

SELAGONCY

SELAGONCY

66 15

66-15

114 17

114-17

235

24382

24382

UST-MOMA

UST'- MOMA

66 27

66-27

143 14

143-14

196

196

24639

24639

NIURBA

NJURBA

63 17

63-17

118 20

118-20

129

129

24671

24671

TOMPO

TOMPO

63 57

63-57

135 52

135-52

400

400

24768

24768

CUPRAPCA

CURAPCA

62 02

62-02

132 36

132-36

179

179

25248

25248

ILIRNEYJ

ILIRNEJ

67 20

67-15

168 14

167-58

426

356

25325

25325

UST-OLOY

UST'- OLOJ

66 33

66-33

159 25

159-25

213

125

25378

25378

EGVEKINOT

EGVEKINOT

66 21

66-21

180 53

179-07

15

26

25400

25400

ZYRYANKA

ZYRJANKA

65 44

65-44

150 54

150-54

43

25538

25538

VERHNEE PENZINO

VERHNEE PENZINO

64 08

64-13

164 35

164-14

326

326

25705

-----

SREDNEKAN

62 27

152 19

264

25744

25744

KAMENSKOE

KAMENSKO

62 29

62-26

166 13

166-05

34

8

26063

26063

LENINGRAD

ST. PETERBURG

59 58

59-58

30 18

030-18

2

4

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Temporal Coverage

The data range from 1 January 1961 through 31 December 2000.

Meteorological observation hours were changed several times within the period of record. From 1961 through 1965, observations were at 0100, 0700, 1300 and 1900 local solar time; since 1966, observations were at 0000, 0300, 0600, 0900, 1200, 1500, 1800 and 2100 hours Moscow Local Time.

Data Acquisition and Processing

These data were originally published in the Meteorological Monthly issues of the All-Russia Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information, (RIHMI), Obninsk. Data were digitized at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg. The stations and time period covered by this data set were chosen to make data available that were not already available (as of 2000) in the NOAA National Climatic Data Center’s Global Historical Climate Network or at the International Arctic Research Center (IARC), Fairbanks, AK.

Average daily (from four observations per day for the period 1961-1965 and from eight observations per day since 1966) and monthly values of meteorological parameters were calculated from individual observations by the observer (a meteorologist) at each of the stations. The meteorologist calculated monthly mean from daily data as (d1 + d2 + ... + dn)/n, where n= 28,29,30 or 31 days. A monthly mean was not calculated if there were more than seven missing observations at the same observation time during the month (for example, 0000 or 0300).

Table 4 gives a description of the surface parameters and the accuracy of observations measured at the stations. When reviewing table 4, please refer to the Note on Precipitation section of this document. Meteorological observations were performed according to the Manual for Hydrometeorological Stations, Gidrometeoizdat, 1985 (translated from the Russian "Nastavlenie dlay gidrometeorologicheskih stantsy"). A standard meteorological site was 26 m by 26 m, and was located on relief typical of the area. It was more than 100 m distant from any bodies of water, and at a distance 20 times the height of any obstruction (such as trees or a building). Station and barometer elevations are presented in Table 6.

In the original data tables, some gaps occurred in the period of record and other gaps were introduced due to quality control. Quality control was performed at AARI using the methods outlined in Quality Control Methods.

Measurement of amount, duration period (within 24 hours), and type of precipitation two or four times within 24 hours (Measurement of amount only in this data set)

Tretyakov precipitation gauge twice daily (0000 and 0600 hours local time) to an accuracy of 0.1 mm. [check this against Groisman paper]

Cloud cover

Amount of total and low cloud, its form and type (Amount only in this data set).

Cloud amount is given in tenths; cloud forms are defined by the international atlas of clouds; base height of low cloud border is defined visually or by IVO device with accuracy up to 50 m.

Quality Control Methods

No filtering or editing of the data took place at NSIDC. Plots showing the distribution of the data by month for each parameter at each station are available as pdf files in a single tarred file accessible via FTP.

The following documentation, provided by V. Radionov, describes general methods of quality control used at AARI.

Time series testing

Stage I: Data that were not already in digital form were digitized from logbooks, bulletins, or charts. Quality control for monthly means was performed as follows:

Each monthly mean (monthly means were calculated at each station by an observer) was evaluated based on the likelihood and consistency of individual parameter values. This excluded most large errors.

For individual meteorological parameters, where the distribution is close to normal, statistical estimates of the mean and extremes can be used for testing. These parameters generally include pressure, air temperature, relative humidity, and surface temperature.

Grubbs' criterion (Grubbs, 1950) was used to detect individual extrema. If a point exceeded a threshold based on the mean, one may assume the hypothesis of over estimation. Points that exceeded plus or minus 2.5 standard deviations from the monthly mean were marked.

The modified criteria of Tietjen and Moore (1972) were sometimes used for testing outliers.

Values exceeding the thresholds were noted as questionable. As an additional quality control, a parameter may have been temporarily changed by interpolation of the tested parameter with observational data of this parameter across two adjacent intervals. Discrepancies between tested and interpolated parameter values were estimated as extreme deviations (Kolmogoroff deviation) and each evaluated by an expert, who made the ultimate decision. Additionally, all questionable observations were tested by an expert specialist from AARI who made the ultimate decision about the rejection of questionable values.

Stage II: Testing during Stage I excluded crude errors. In Stage II, systematic errors connected with instrument function, improper operation, or with incorrect data processing were considered. These are errors that would not necessarily be routinely noticed.

Horizontal control between stations

Within a 40-year period, changes may appear in the climatic homogeneity of time series. These may result from changes in the meteorological station location, or in the station surroundings, and from natural climatic changes. The most common analysis methods of climatic homogeneity, the difference and ratio methods (Drozdov, 1989) are used in this test. This procedure makes it possible to identify shifts in parameter value. Other cases of climatic heterogeneity of temporal sets will not be identified during these threshold tests because it is impossible to distinguish the causes of heterogeneity without carrying out a sophisticated analysis. The data record of the 51 stations in this data set was tested by this method.

As in all preceding steps, an expert made the final decisions regarding quality control, including the advisability of testing observations at adjacent stations. Observations that passed all stages of the testing are included in this data set.

Background color on

Note on Precipitation

Precipitation measurements in this data set were acquired using Tretyakov’s precipitation gauges. Tretyakov’s precipitation gauges replaced rain gauges with Nipher shields at most Russian stations before 1954. Rain gauges with Nipher shields were replaced in order to reduce errors caused by the blowing of solid precipitation out of the gauges during snowstorms. Nipher gauges record considerably less solid precipitation than do Tretyakov gauges. For this reason data acquired using Nipher shield gauges cannot be used with data acquired using Tretyakov gauges without adjustments to the data record (Groisman and Rankova, 2001).

Prior to 1966, data used to create monthly totals of precipitation values were uncorrected for wind, gauge type, or wetting. Beginning in 1966, data were corrected for wetting directly by observers at the stations. The wetting correction is 0.2 mm for liquid and mixed precipitation, and 0.1 mm for solid precipitation, for each individual measurement. It is theoretically possible to correct monthly totals of precipitation prior to 1966 for wetting if daily precipitation totals and air temperatures are known, but doing so is beyond the scope of this data set.

Measuring arctic precipitation accurately is difficult and these data records are known to have errors. Users of these data should first become familiar with error sources. We strongly suggest consulting Groisman and Rankova (2001) and references contained therein, and the documentation on gridded precipitation fields in Arctic Climatology Project (2000) for an introduction to precipitation measurement issues. Groisman and Rankova (2001) have information on adjusting the raw precipitation measurements in this data set so that pre- and post-1966 values are homogeneous.

These data were made available through funding from the NOAA Environmental Services Data and Information Management (ESDIM) program, in cooperation with the National Geophysical Data Center. ESDIM project number 02-442E, Dave Clark, Principal Investigator. Distribution of the data set from NSIDC is supported by funding from NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) and the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC).

Document Information

Document Creation Date

August 2003

Document Authors

This document was prepared by K. Webster and F. Fetterer based on the documentation of the related product, Arctic Climatology Project (2000), and on information supplied by V. Radionov, AARI. A. Machado reviewed the data and provided the graphic.

Document Revision Date

October 2006: F. Fetterer made minor edits, updated the documentation formatting, and provided a link to graphs of data.